Calling Ella Erransmith!

(Hey, sorry for interrupting for the billionth time, but I’ve been kind of nervous that I’m doing things wrong. Please tell me if I do something you’re not too fond of so I can fix it! I want this to be a good experience for both of us!)

(it's no problem whatsoever, I'm so sorry for making you nervous
I just saw that thing you posted about you being pushy I'm so sorry I didn't see it before
You're doing amazingly!
I'm the one who's messing up
I'm inconsistent on roleplays, meaning I'll sometimes leave notebook for like seven hours at a time and jump on briefly, and when I do jump on briefly, I usually only check the roleplays at the top of my unread
Shit, I'm really sorry for making you nervous, I should have warned you)

Dara's eyes somehow managed to widen further. "You're– you're okay with me eating your food?" She sounded halfway between pleasantly shocked and apprehensive; as if she was afraid this was a trap. "I- I don't want to eat up your resources– Honestly, you don't have to waste all this on me."

(and I'm sorry my replies keep getting shorter and shorter, I'm just stressed and tired and my writing isn't that great as of rn)

(Oh, no, it’s okay! You’re fine, I promise! Thank you. If you’re tired of this role play, please tell me! I’d hate to stress you out. Don’t worry about it—just worry about you.)

“Of course you can have something to eat. We don’t have much, like I said, but that’s not a problem. I’ll make a run to get some food later in the night, don’t you worry. I just want to make sure you’re alright. Nathan… think of it as an apology for having to put up with him! He can be quite a stubborn pain sometimes, although maybe that’s just the sister in me speaking.” She turned pink. “Anyway, what would you like to eat? Do you need more blankets? I’ll get you some of my old clothes to wear for the night so you won’t be so wet, but they may be a little tight.” A scream—Nathan’s scream—echoed through the house, and she paused. “I… I’ll get started on the fire. You just tell me what you want, and I’ll get it.”

(Okay you're legit one of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of talking to both online and in real life, thank you so much
I don't think I'd ever get tired of this– but the same goes to you! If I ever disappear for hours at a time, I'm sorry)

Dara stood there, rooted the spot, an effect of two things. Firstly, Nathan's horrible, heart-wrenching scream, and second, this woman's incredible kindness– something she hadn't experienced in years. "I– As long as I'm not troubling you.." She trailed off, biting her tongue. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

(Wow, thank you! You’re a very pleasant person as well, I quite enjoy this. I’d be sad to see it go, but things definitely happen. I’m more worried about you than this story.)

Annabeth, unsure of whether or not she could pat the girl’s head comfortingly, struggled to repress the surge of warmth bubbling in her chest. The girl reminded her of Belladonna when she was really young. Bella had always insisted that she was some sort of problem, even though Anna and Nathan has doted over her constantly. Forcing back a dopey grin and some tears, she placed a hand over her own heart.
“I promise that you’re not being a bother. It’s actually pleasant to have some company. Sure, Bella’s here, but she works more often than not. Nathaniel leaves so much to see Clarissa or get whatever we need that I often have the house to myself. You don’t have to stay, but… just know that it’d be our pleasure to give you this room. I’ll have to talk to my siblings, but they’ll probably be fine with it.” Realizing that she was getting ahead of herself, she coughed in embarrassment. “That is, if you even want it.”

(thanks, Ella [can I call you Ella?]
I'd be sad to see it go as well)

Dara blinked, mouth fumbling for the right words to say. But nothing came out, not a sound, for at least twenty seconds while she did her best to pull her sorry self together and come up with a respectable answer. "Stay– you mean, stay?" Goddammit. Not what counts as a respectable answer. She tried again, wiping her sweating palms on her black, soiled trousers. "I mean– That sounded really ungrateful, I'm sorry."

(You can call me whatever you like! Some people call me Ella, but others call me El or Ellie. It’s up to you!)

Laughing under her breath, Anna crouched by the fire and began poking at the embers with a matchbox. She lit a single stick to throw in some barely singed logs. In a little under a second, the whole room was wondrously heated.
“Stay meaning that you can stay as long as you’d like. Don’t worry about it too much. If the morning comes and you’re not feeling it, that’s fine. You can still eat whatever we have for breakfast before you go.”
Another scream. She actually tensed up this time.
“And, uh, let me go fetch you that stuff. We can talk for a minute or two as soon as I bring it back. How does that sound?

(great, thanks!)

"Y-Yeah," Dara replied, clearly dazed. She flinched, the scream still echoing in her ears, but nodded. "That sounds- That sounds good. Thank you." Sitting down carefully on the bed, she let her eyes drift close, basking in the room's newfound warmth.

Her journey around her small home was quick. She started with her room, where she picked some loose flannel pajama pants, a fuzzy gray top, and some mismatching socks from her tiny closet. Without pausing, she went to the kitchen, got one of their paper cups, filled it with the water they’d stored in a jar with snow, snatched a bag of mixed nuts and berries, and, all while wearing a blanket she’d snatched from their old, creaky couch, like a cape, made her way back to Nathan and Belladonna. She set the objects down and stopped next to her brother, who was openly weeping as his torn, abused back was spritzed with a mix of water and serum. He was biting hard into something leather, but that didn’t stop the noises he was making from coming out. When he saw her, he stuck out his arm. She squeezed his hand tightly.
“Good, do that for one more second while I pack it with snow. Try and breathe, brother,” their younger sister murmured. She scooped a heaping of powdery, cold snow out to put on his back. He sobbed hard as it went on. “There, there, Nathaniel. Breathe in and out.”
“I’m sorry this happened,” Anna said in a small voice. Though his eyes were watery, he managed to give her a reassuring glance. That was, until Belladonna put more in his wounds. He cried out sharply, grabbed something in his lap—the bucket—and spat the leather out. Annabeth turned and gathered her stuff as he began to retch and gag.
“Dara,” she called once at the girl’s door, “I’m back. May i come in?”

Dara had been trailing her fingers over the wooden headboard of the bead when she’d heard the broken sobs, lost in thought and confusion. At the sudden sounds, she’d stiffened and squeezed her eyes shut— they were familiar, so painfully familiar that they hurt to hear. Breathe… she reminded herself, He’s going to be okay..

A knock on her door jolted her out of her reverie, a familiar voice soon following after. “Come in,” she called, voice slightly weak.

(Okay that parallel you did w him having to breathe at the same time as her was sO GOOD APPLAUSE)

She put on a happy face and set everything, except the water, down in a large heap across the bedsheet. She untied her blanket cape to toss to Dara. Then, she placed the water gently down on the nightstand. Spinning around, she plopped herself down beside the new girl with a bubbly laugh.
“There you go! Food, water, and a change of clothes. They should fit you well.” Annabeth tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “There’s only one bathroom here, so you’ll have to bathe in the morning. Breakfast will be something hot, don’t you worry. I’ll try and come in to relight your fire at least one more time before dawn so you don’t freeze to death. Some things will have to come later, like personal supplies, but I can…” upon seeing Dara, she trailed off. “Are you… you alright? You look upset. I didn’t upset you, did I?”

(Aw thank you)

Dara blinked, astonished and thoroughly confused. “No not at all! I was just rememb— never mind. You didn’t- you didn’t have to bring me all this stuff, thank you— thank you so much.” She was touched at the unimaginable kindness of this woman/- who had ever bothered to treat her like this before? “Thank you.”

“If you’re sure,” Annabeth said, worried. She yawned, a tad sleepy herself, and pulled her fingers through her hair. “You’re very welcome. It’s really not that much. I promise that there’ll be more where that came from if you decide to stay, but I won’t make you.”
The fire crackled and popped. She sighed in comfort, her eyelids already dropping.
“Sorry to say this, Dara, but I’m all tired out. I might try and get some sleep tonight if I can. I’ll still wake up early enough to do your fire, though, and Bella can bring you anything else if you feel like it. Nathan, um, well… I’m not sure where he’ll end up spending the night. She might decide it’s not great for him to walk to his room and risk tearing his stitches. The couch is kind of far away as well. I would’ve given you his room had I thought about it, or even mine… I guess he might have to stay in here if he can’t walk too much, but she’ll set something up for him on he ground. You won’t have to worry about a thing. Besides, by then you’ll probably be long asleep. That… isn’t a problem, is it?”

Dara shook her head quickly. “That’s not- not a problem at all, but I can take the floor.” She ran a hand through her tangled hair, embarrassed. “Let him have the bed, he needs it more than I do.”

“I think not! You’re the guest. Besides, it’s probably for the best if he doesn’t get under the covers. They could mess with his bandages, or he could stain the sheets. If he’s on the floor, he can sleep easily on his stomach. We’ll still give him pillows, but it also means he’ll be closer to the fire.” Annabeth stood and looked towards the door. “He’d be absolutely furious if I let a guest sleep on the ground.”

(G’morning!)

Dara opened her mouth to protest— why would they want her to sleep in this luxury of a bed when there was someone who deserved and needed it more?— but no sound came out. Internal conflict practically written across her face, she managed to nod, almost against her will. “But move me if— if he needs the bed, or wants it. I don’t mind— really.”

(Good morning!!!)
“He most likely won’t, but I promise I’ll tell them that.” Holding back her urge to ruffle Dara’s hair, she crossed all the way to the door and opened it. Then, with a backwards glance, she said, “Goodnight, Dara. Don’t worry about the bed. It’ll all work out. Just get some sleep, alright?”

(how are you?)

Hesitation flickering across her features, Dara gave a small nod, rubbing self-consciously at her arm. "Goodnight– And thank you for everything." She meant it sincerely, how could she not, after everything this woman had done for her even though they'd only just met? I'll repay her one day, she promised herself, heaving a sigh.

(Pretty well! Just need to catch up on homework—I’ve been terribly lazy)

“It’s no problem, truly. See you in the morning.”
She closed the door quietly behind her and, with the grace of a cat, slinked all the way back to her siblings. Nathan was breathing very heavily, but he no longer seemed completely there. His eyes were distant and unfocused. She was glad to see that he wasn’t crying, and that he didn’t flinch when she got near, but the exhaustion in his face made her worried.
Belladonna didn’t look much better. As hard as she tried to remain calm when dealing with patients, it was clear that the stress of what was clearly happening had finally taken its toll.
“She’s all set up for bed. I told her you might send him in to sleep on the floor if he couldn’t make it back to his room.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Anna. It’s looking like you’re right. He’s too heavy for me to support him across the house, so it’ll have to be that room. I can get something ready for him on the floor when when I’m done in a few minutes.”
Annabeth turned to walk down the hall towards the front door, but her sister stopped her with a noise.
“Where are you going?”
“You know where.”
“It’s going to be dangerous and cold. Take your cloak. It’s by the door.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll be back before you know it with food for the morning. And don’t worry about her—she thinks I’m going to bed. No need to stress her out, right?”
“Right,” Bella responded. She averted her eyes and gestured. “Well, go on, then.”
“See you later, Bella.”

(I imagine this part’s not going to be too interesting for Dara because she’s just going to be getting ready to go to bed. Maybe we could skip to her waking up when Nathan knocks on the door to come in? Bella will have already set up a little nest of blankets and pillows for him.)

(Same tho.. two essays due tomorrow and I'm only halfway done the first. Fun.)
(sure, if you want, how much time will have passed by then?)

(Probably only about two hours? I’m assuming Dara will either be asleep or thinking about something. If you want, I can start it??)

(yeah for sure! just for the record, Dara will be lying awake and staring at the ceiling, looking very scared)

(Good to know, good to know)
Nathan had never been in so much pain.
He’d had fights, sure, almost every other day, but they’d mostly ended in scratches, bruises, and bitemarks. One, probably one of his worst, had even finished with a sprained ankle. None of those, not a single one, came close to the ache of his stinging back.
He inhaled deeply as Belladonna patted his arm. They were right by the door to the room Dara was supposed to be in, and he was shaking like a kicked puppy in the rain.
His sister looked at him. “You’ll be alright?”
“I’ll be alright.”
“Good. See you in the morning, then.”
She walked off, her slippers scuffing the ground. He watched her go with nothing but weary admiration in his eyes.
He brought his fist up to the door and gave it a soft knock. “Dara? May I come in?”

Dara lay in bed, her eyes tracing the shadows flickering across the ceiling– her ceiling. The though that it could belong to her, the thought that it had been offered so soon after she'd met the family, never ceased to confuse her– she'd never been wanted before, not like this, and in truth, she was scared of what could happen when they realized how awful she really was. Out in the passage, voices sounded; Nathan and Bella's. Getting up, she made her way to the door and opened it, just as a knock sounded.

(Sorry for being late! I ran into a problem with my car, but all’s well now!)

The door swung open in his face. He stared down at Dara with a hint of something unnameable in his eyes; for some reason, he hadn’t expected her to actually be there. He’d known she would, yet his mind had been convinced that she was someone he made up. It didn’t make sense, but he was so tired that he didn’t care.
“Oh,” he said, “hello. I’m sorry, I know it’s kind of late. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

(no problem, sorry I left abruptly, I had to go to my friend's house to work on a project)

She brushed it away, concerned eyes scanning his features for any sign of pain. "I was already awake. Here, come in." Stepping aside, Dara kept the door open for him, gesturing towards the bed. "Your sister set up some blankets on the floor for you, but you can take the bed," she offered, not planning on taking 'no' for an answer. "How are you feeling?"

(I had an idea for way later in this role play. What if the people in this town decided to hunt down and kill/imprison those with magic due to a series of magical attacks in a nearby strand of towns? That way it’d be an us-vs-then situation with some actual risk, and it’d be a lot of fun to do!)

(ooh yesss that sounds awesome!)

(Okay, great!)

He went straight past her onto the floor, where he sat cross-legged, shirtless, and unapologetic. With a yawn, he stretched out his arms in the dying light of the coals. The tattooed on his chest flickered in and out as the shadows danced around him, and strands of his sweaty hair fell into his lined, worried face. He pulled a sheet up over his legs and looked at her, a hint of a smile—possibly a hysterical grin—teasing the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll take the floor, thanks, and don’t worry. It’s… bad,” he admitted, “but I think I’ll be fine. If Bella’s right, then I’ll be back in action before I know it. Well, more like a week or so, but still.”

Normally, Dara would have flushed at the sight of his bare chest, but the sight of his back, littered with cuts and bandages, only brought guilt rising within her instead. "No, I insist, take the bed. Especially if it's that bad." Approaching him, she kneeled down next to the nest of blankets, trying to convince him to move over. "Honestly, it's fine, I usually sleep on the floor anyways."